Don’t Expel Stuart Wheeler

Yesterday evening the News of the World broke a story about a Conservative donor, lending his support to UKIP for the European elections, and is also donating £100,000 to them. His basic argument is that David Cameron’s Conservatives don’t say enough about Europe, and he feels they’re completely ignoring an important issue.

Conservative Home, and Iain Dale both believe he should be expelled from the party for disloyalty. I believe Mr Wheeler has highlighted an issue quite important to a lot of the Conservative grassroots. To not talk about Europe and give a more defined decision, risks alienating some of their core vote. Expelling him would be the wrong course of action, the man is a Conservative, through and through, and will be voting that way in the local and general elections. If you expel somebody for having strong anti-European views, then you risk a trickle of open UKIP praise based on principle, turning into a flood, which could be deeply damaging to the party.

19:27 Update: According to the Telegraph, Wheeler has been expelled from the Conservative Party.